EPA, New Mexico Agree to Joint Produced Water Study

As oil and natural gas development in Southeast New Mexico rapidly increases, the technology and techniques for treating produced water have outpaced many federal regulations aimed at protecting water supplies from what was long considered a waste byproduct.

This summer, following months of discussions with New Mexico state officials and vigorous lobbying by industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed an agreement to cooperate on an in-depth study of how produced-water recycling and reuse can be expanded while reducing freshwater demand in the arid environs of the southwest.